Wednesday, February 11, 2015

When you have a SDCC badge for all four days, it becomes difficult to choose between camping out in lines (and rooms) all day and taking advantage of all of the activities outside of the convention center. Not all of the events and activities outside of convention center run all weekend (again, I highly recommend Outside Comic-Con website for a detailed list and schedule). In 2013, I was unable to find the Nerd HQ entrance (for more on Nerd HQ, check out the Nerd Machine's official website and my friend had several blog posts in support of the I Want My Nerd HQ campaign here), but I made a point to find it in 2014. I focus on the events which don't require a con badge, and are free in these posts.

My niece and I coming down the line.

Probably my favorite thing was the Gotham zipline which I didn't do until the last day of the Con, Sunday. It was a 3 hour wait (and it did rain pretty hard for about 30 minutes which added to the time), but it was worth it. Since you had to be 18, my youngest niece couldn't go on it (she was elated by that fact) so she took pictures for me. You also get a printed picture and gif of your trip down the line. By Sunday, they had run out of the police badges and t-shirts which were given to everyone who had participated.

My niece and I at the end of the line.

Next to the Gotham zipline was a Godzilla display. I had seen this Godzilla structure in Hollywood when it was on display for about a week in front of the historic TCL Chinese Theatre (before that it was a decoration for the Godzilla after-party for the Los Angeles premiere). What I wasn't expecting was to hear a very loud Godzilla roar while waiting in line checking out the fan art they had displayed. I'm not ashamed to admit that I jumped because it scared the hell out of me!

I love Godzilla, and was interested to see what else they had. There was a station to make a gif of yourself running away from Godzilla and another for a green screen picture which was placing you in the movie poster. The gif was emailed to you (or you could post it to Facebook or other social media), and you received a printout of the photo taken (you could also have it emailed to you). They also gave you a cool drawstring backpack.

Fan Art

A chalk board everyone could write on

We also spotted a penguin from Penguins of Madagascar!

To the left of the Godzilla display was the Into the Storm display. The Titus was on display (though you couldn't get in it), which is this customized vehicle for storm chasing.

I didn't take pictures inside Nerd HQ, but once you go through the entrance you are greeted by these fantastic steps!

Here are few pictures from the Interactive area near Petco Park.

I didn't go into the Adult Swim area.

Superhero makeup station

Two headless horseman having a chat

The X-Men thing was really cool. You could take survey to find out which X-Men or Villain you are, then have your picture taken (with your own device) behind one of the character boards (you could be Wolverine, for example), then you could record your own message, which I was a little uncomfortable with as I am not an actress!

X-Men experience sponsored by Norton

Next to the X-Men experience was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles display where you could climb on the Turtle's vehicle and "shoot" Shredder's men. You could also get a photo taken (they gave you a printout), and get a free slice of pizza! I didn't take any pictures of this area really because I was too busy stuffing my face.

On Sunday evening, we went to the Agents of SHIELD party which was held by a fan group at a local bar. They didn't have the whole place to themselves and it was pretty crowded with all of the other "regular" patrons. I'm not sure if I would go again, but I'm thinking about it.TTFN,V

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

This is the second installment on my recaps of the (mostly) free fun you can have in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter and surrounds during San Diego Comic-Con none of which require a con badge. There was one paid event I went to during SDCC in 2013 which was SherlockedCC, a party put on by the Baker Street Babes for fans of BBC's Sherlock. The cost for the event is pretty low in comparison to other parties in the area. I won't be posting about that party today. (But stay tuned for a recap of those parties in 2013 and 2014 when it gets closer to the 2015 party announcement.)I didn't have a SDCC badge in 2013, and was a bit low on cash, but I took my nieces to the Gaslamp Quarter to do some of the free events and check out the amazing Cosplay.

We'll start with the Assassin's Creed ship (actually the Star of India) which was in the harbor Friday and Saturday only. I've always wanted to see the Star of India, and this was a great (and free!) way to do it. I was impressed that so much was allowed to be changed on the ship, but I'm sure the San Diego Maritime Museum was well paid for it. On the deck, they were doing straight razor shaves, which I didn't participate in being a woman and all, but I did grab a free can of shaving cream and a Gillette razor.

Below deck,there were several displays of historic ships as well as back drops for the game. There was also a photo booth with themed costumes, and they also provided you with a print (maybe more than one, but I can't remember).

It was fun to walk around the ship and take in it's glory. Click on the link above to learn more about the Star of India. While waiting in line for the Assassin's Creed ship experience, I saw this Minion blimp flying above, and there were people walking around with large balloons promoting Cosmos.

Minion Blimp

Cosmos balloons

We headed over to the Interactive Zone near Petco Park to see what they had once we were finished on the Assassin's Creed ship. On the way to the Interactive Zone, I stopped to check out these incredible Lego figures!

The Hobbit: Bilbo's House!

Side view of Bilbo's house

Robin, Batman and Joker made of Legos.

In the Interactive Zone, there was a fantastic car display in which all of the cars were designed around a specific DC Comics superhero or superhero team. These cars were all up for bid as well.

Cyborg Car

SuperMan Car

Superman Car Interior

Green Lantern Car

Justice League Car

Wonder Woman Car

Batman Car

I have to say that I really, really loved the detail which went into those cars as I would never consider buying a Kia otherwise. Next to the car display was a Superman "game" sponsored by Norton after which you were given a bag with some flyers and a small superhero cape. Then you could get a green screen picture taken which was then imposed onto a Newspaper headline. They gave you a card with a code to download the photo.

The Walking Dead Escape was promoted in the zone:

There were other things to see as well as a phone charging station (which I took advantage of).

We walked around near the Tin Fish restaurant and did the Black List and Dracula activities. The Dracula exhibit included getting a photo taken in a crypt which was cool...and a bit creepy.

I love how the Pedi-Cabs are decorated for SDCC. This driver (couldn't get a good pic of him) looked a lot like Colin O'Donoghue.

Further down, was a huge Ender's Game exhibit with actual sets and props from the film. After the exhibit, you could get a picture taken which they gave you a dogtag with a code to download the photo.

There was this cool puppet in the street in the Gaslamp (near the Hard Rock Hotel).

Just walking around the Gaslamp Quarter (a few blocks north of the Convention Center) it's a bit quieter, yet there are people everywhere handing out free stuff. I was given a small pocket emergency kit (sponsored by Best Buy), a couple of bottles of water (sponsored by the movie, The Worlds End), and other stuff.

Free "Worlds End" water!

San Diego Trolley decked out for Agents of SHIELD

Remember to follow Outside Comic-Con (Twitter: @outsidecomiccon ) for all the events happening outside the Convention Center during San Diego Comic-Con.TTFN,V